In order to reduce these rates, experts say the key is to promote healthy eating habits, but picky eaters can turn out to be a challenge for parents.

Megan Lott, deputy director at Healthy Eating Research says the number one tip for parents of picky eaters is structure.

“It’s really structuring your environment to provide an abundance of healthy choices and limiting the less healthy options,” said Lott. 

She also stressed that even though all kids go through periods of picky eating, especially during toddlerhood and preschool, it’s still a very challenging situation for parents; an additional stressor, after all the changes families had to endure during the pandemic. 

“During COVID, families had children home more than they had in the past and a lot of kids who formerly may have been eating food at childcare or schools, lost access to those meals. A lot of families found themselves in situations where they were trying to do more at home, feeding kids more frequently but also potentially with less resources, which can be really challenging,” said Lott.

With helping picky eaters, the second part, according to Lott is getting kids involved and making them part of the process. 

“And then the third part is repetition.  So... it can take up to fifteen tries of a new food before a young child knows if they like it or not.” 

Lott says this is the single most effective strategy the research has shown in terms of getting kids to like new foods.

For older children, parents also have some options to try, although repetition is the most important one.

“Repetition is the most effective strategy but some kids might need a little more help to get those repeated tries in so, you know, you might have to work with your older children to really encourage them, find ways to maybe offer them strategies like playing a favorite game or rewarding them with some outdoor time or whatever motivates your child,” said Lott. 

Still, she stressed that there will be some kids that will need a little bit more coaxing.

“You might have to bring them into the conversation.  The other thing is really getting them involved in food preparation and meal planning has been really positive in terms of getting them to learn to like and willingness to try new things.”